Overview

• On July 12 a 22-year-old German hiker began a climb of the 3,148-meter Kuchenspitze and left his mountain bike with a local farmer before failing to return.
• Rescue crews from Bergrettung St. Anton and the Alpinpolizei conducted a three-day search that ended on July 15 when they found his body at the foot of the mountain’s southwest face.
• Polizei Tirol officials say preliminary investigations point to a fall of several meters down steep block terrain resulting in fatal injuries.
• Authorities have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
• Lightning strikes in June accounted for at least three of this season’s alpine fatalities, underscoring the unpredictable weather hazards of the high-altitude terrain.